One last post about gifts...

Okay, this is the last belated post about Christmas gifts and it is all about my brand new...Cricut machine! Yippy! Seriously, I love just saying that I have a "Personal Electronic Cutter Machine."

My mom and I found a great deal on it at Joanns on Black Friday. And by "great deal," I mean pretty much the best deal ever. The machine is regularly priced at $199 but with the combination of door buster deals, coupons and even a teacher discount...we got it for $60.

So, ever since Thanksgiving I have been dreaming about all the fabulous electronic cutting I can do. You see, this machine is the perfect thing for me, because well, I'm just not so good at manual cutting. I honestly think that maybe I missed the day of kindergarten where you learn about scissors and how to cut. I'm not totally unable to cut...but I am completely incapable of cutting at all quickly. And the thought of cutting out the insides of shapes or letters completely intimidates me. Seriously, in my middle school science class, my teacher would cut projects out for me because I was so slow at it. But now, my Cricut has saved the day and I can cut again. :)

Except that I am so excited that I can't even decide what to use it for first. I feel like the first project should be something memorable. Yes, I know I'm a dork, but this is big for me. Here are some ideas I love...

• Monogrammed journals, cards and name frame [Imperfectly Beautiful]
• Personalized candles [Centsational Girl]
• Custom art above our bead [in my head]
• Recycled grocery totes [So You Think You're Crafty]
• To redo a Goodwill find [in my head]
• A whole bunch of other stuff [all in my head]

Basically, I am sure you will be seeing a whole bunch of Cricut projects from me in the future. :)

More gifts...

Continuing with my belated gifts post, the next category is gifts I want more of. :) These are three items I received from my mom, sister, and mother-in-law. I love them so much that I want to make more of them - I think they could all be recreated, I just need to figure out how...

First, was a blouse similar to this one from the Loft. I love the flower details and would love them on a whole bunch of similar tees. I believe I'm going to need to learn to sew... 

Next, is this necklace from Stella & Dot. Love it...and pretty much every piece of Stella & Dot jewelry. So I also need to learn jewelry making...

And the jewelry making will also help me to make cuff bracelets like this and an assortment of colors. This isn't the exact bracelet I got, but it is the same lovely idea...

Gifts...

Okay, I know Christmas was months ago, but I wanted to share some of the great gifts I received, so please bear with me for a few posts. First up are three homemade, extremely meaningful, family-related gifts...

The first gift is this sweet little bear made from my grandpa's old shirts, ties and, of course, overalls. [My grandpa always wore overalls. The only time he would change was when my grandma made him.] My aunt made one of these bears for each of his children and grandchildren. I love how each of the bears is unique and such a great way to remember my grandpa.

The next gift was also made by my aunt for all the children and grandchildren. [She was really on a roll this year!] She gathered all of my grandma's recipes and compiled them in books for each of us. My favorite thing about the book is that it just confirms again how much like my grandma I am...probably 88% of the cookbook is filled with dessert recipes. :)

And last in the "family" gifts category, was the yearly scrapbook update from my Godson. Someday when I have kids, I will definitely be continuing this tradition for their Godparents. At the beginning of the scrapbook, it says "You shared with me my Baptism Day,"...

"And now I invite you to share with me my childhood."

And each year for Christmas I get adorable updates of this little cutie!

Good things come in big packages...

Coming home to a package on the porch is one of my very favorite things. And today I came home to a huge box with our new bookcase from CB2.

We are planning to put it together this weekend...which probably translates to sometime in April. Either way, stay tuned for pictures of the bookcase set up in our office. :)

While my husband is away...

Every Tuesday my husand has to work late. Which means that every Tuesday, I generally do one of four things:

1. Go shopping
2. Work on a craft project
3. Write on my blog
4. Or watch lots of Days of Our Lives

I have now officially done all four. It has been a very good day! Stay tuned for more about my shopping and craft.

[And if you are a dork like me, check this out for more on Days of Our Lives. But don't spoil anything for me!]

Oh, baby!

I have incredibly exciting news to share...

I'm going to be an aunt!!!

That's right - my amazing sister and her husband are expecting their first baby this July! I have been waiting impatiently anxiously to share the news for quite some time now. In the meantime, I have been occupying myself by thinking of fun ideas for baby showers, baby gifts, and all sorts of ways to spoil my new little niece or nephew! With all of the ideas, I've already secured myself the titles "Favorite Aunt" and "Best Aunt Ever!" [It doesn't hurt that I'm my sister's only sibling and her husband is an only child...]

I can't wait to meet the new addition to their adorable little family! The new little one is sure to be beautiful, incredibly smart, sweet and loved more than words can explain!

More free ideas...

Speaking of free magazines, I am also more than a little obsessed with the free Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine. Can we say incredible? I'm big on tearing out and saving magazine pages and today I felt like I was ripping out every other page. But my very favorite idea from this issue...

A plain mirror turned fabulous with glass tiles. I love glass tiles, so naturally I love this project. The instructions make it look really simple and we even have mirrors left over from our wedding we could use. :)

P.S. For more great ideas, check out how to Recycle in Style.

Fruit shooters...

I am quite possibly a mega dork, but I love when we get the free HyVee Seasons magazine in the mail. Seriously, I get crazy excited. Especially when there are awesome ideas inside it like these fruit shooter recipes...

Watermelon and Raspberry Juice

3 cups watermelon, rind removed, cubed and seeded
1 cup raspberries, rinsed and dried
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cherry-Berry Juice
2 tablespoons Nature Blessed Cherry Concentrate
12 oz. of water
3/4 cup blueberries, rinsed
1 apple, washed, cored, cut in wedges and seeded

Cantaloupe Surprise
4 cups of cantaloupe, rind removed, seeded and cubed
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Green Apple and Kiwi Popper
2 kiwifruits, peeled
2 apples, cored, seeds removed and cut in wedges
1 tablespoon lemon juice

I am definitely looking forward to trying these out. I don't know about you, but whenever Mr. W and I buy a watermelon or cantaloupe, it seems like we can never finish it. I have a feeling these little ideas will come in very handy. :)

Artful words...

I love words - saying them...writing them...and art made with them. Like this incredible "subway" art made from a family's resolutions for 2010. What a great idea! [Check out this week's challenge at So You Think You're Crafty to vote for it.]

I also love this idea for smaller art from Bower Power with words from their home states.

The ideas for this type of art are endless...Bible verses, special memories, vacation sites, etc.

Pottery Barn ideas...

So, this Pottery Barn-inspired project got me thinking about other possibilities for creating my own one of a kind piece for less. Here are the Pottery Barn inspiration pieces I found...

Eat Sign [$49]

Number Door Know Row of Hooks [$99]

Planked Pony [$199]

Modular Chalkboard Tiles [$136 for a set of four]

Painted Pieced Woodwork [$399]

The best things about these ideas:

• I am certain each of them could be DIYed for waaay under $49
• The colors, sizes and even pictures could be customized (i.e., ponies aren't really my style, but the idea could be easily changed to a giant monogram or any other picture)
• And making things yourself is just fun. :)

Pottery Barn inspiration...

I love projects that recreate a pricy piece for much less. Like this $349.00 Pottery Barn artwork...

...that inspired this beautiful and almost free artwork by Susie [with a great tutorial!].